I dragged myself into my apartment, dropped my backpack on the floor and face-planted onto my couch. Home sweet home, at last… but why did it feel like just another hotel room?

Rather than dwell on how lonely and heartbroken I still felt despite the five day road trip from hell I’d just finished, I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to the peaceful bliss of sleep.

“Oof! What the hell?” My eyes jerked open as I gasped for air while I jerked to dislodge whoever was currently sitting on my back. As soon as he laughed, I realized where I was—and who I was with.

“Get off me unless you want me to flip over and show you what morning wood is supposed to look like,” I grumbled at my twin brother.

Todd’s weight disappeared as he moved and waited for me to sit up. Pushing myself up, I stood and stretched from side to side before bending to touch my toes. Yeah, sleeping on the couch after days riding in uncomfortable vehicles probably hadn’t been my best plan.

“Considering the fact that we’re probably looking at the same identical pieces of wood every day, I’ll take a pass. Not to mention the fact that I’m just not that into you,” he winked.

“Shut up, asshole. Damn, I forgot how fugly you are,” I replied with an identical wink and stretched my arms wide. “Get in here and give me a hug, I’ve missed your ass.”

Todd wrapped me in a big hug, then pulled back and gripped my shoulders as he looked me over with a concerned look on his face. Shaking his head, he bit his lip as he gave me a slow once-over.

“You look like hell,” he said matter-of-factly. “Bad trip altogether or just the last bit of it?”

Pursing my lips, I thought over the events of the past few months that I’d been gone—and most importantly, the days I’d spent with Justin at the end of it. I shook my head.

“The trip wasn’t too bad, but the ride home was ridiculous. I’ll tell you the whole story over breakfast. First, I really need to get a shower.”

Todd wrinkled his nose and waved a hand in front of his face. “Yeah, I wasn’t gonna say anything. You should definitely hit the shower, though.”

Before I could head to the bathroom, someone started pounding on the door. “I know you’re in there, let me in. I want to hear all about the hot alpha Mountie that you talked about on your last couple vlogs before you went radio silent.”

Todd and I shared a grin. He pointed to the bathroom as he headed toward the door. “You grab your shower, I’ll hold Luke off until you’re decent.”

While I left my brother to let my buddy in, I slipped off for a quite, necessary shower. By the time I came back out, Todd and Luke were just walking in the door with a tray filled with cups from my favorite coffee shop, Slow Grind.

My eyes lit up as I rushed for the coffee, but Todd held it up over his head and jerked his chin toward Luke. “First say hello to this guy so that he’ll quit stressing out about you.”

The hole in my heart mended just a little when I saw my bestie. I held my arms out as he rushed in for a hug. After a long sloppy hug where he rocked me from side to side and squeezed me hard enough to make me gasp for air, Luke finally released me.

“I’m so glad you’re home. I really missed you,” he said sincerely then tipped his head toward Todd. “Turns out, even having your doppelgänger around isn’t enough to replace you. Hey, Todd,” he said as his eyes filled with excitement. “Show Scott what you have hidden behind your back.”

Todd brought his other hand out from behind his back and held out a white bag emblazoned with the logo from Salty Stix, our friend Pierre’s bakery. My eyes lit up as I grabbed for the bag. Todd released it with a chuckle and let me lead them to my dining nook.

As we settled into our seats, Luke passed around napkins from a holder in the center of the table while Todd distributed our coffees. I pulled a large chocolate croissant from the bag and put it on my napkin before passing the goodies over to the other guys. I sighed happily after taking the first sip of my fave cinnamon latte.

“Now I feel like I’m home. I didn’t know it was possible to miss a coffee drink until I tasted this bit of nirvana, so thank you both for that,” I said before taking a big bite of croissant.

“Where have you been? You fell off the radar several days ago, we’ve been worried sick but your phone just goes to voicemail,” Luke’s forehead wrinkled as he fussed at me.

“Shit, I couldn’t even begin to tell you. When I left Côte-d’Érable they were in the middle of a freak snowstorm. Then halfway to the border, a tire blew on the bus. We had to wait for hours for somebody to get out there to fix our tire. By the time I got to the border, it was after midnight and my visa had expired. The guy at the border took himself a little too seriously and decided to fuck with me about it.”

I shook my head as I stopped to take a drink of coffee, the little shithead I’d had to deal with at the border had been the least troublesome part of my trip home.

“Thanks to him, I missed the last bus out and had to stay the night on a bench in the bus station. Sometime around dawn, I finally got a bus. We made it through Minnesota and had just crossed into South Dakota, when that bus broke down. It wasn’t a tire though. This time, there was black smoke pouring out of the engine compartment; it was gnarly as hell. We waited half the day before another bus came to take us the rest of the way. In my rush to change buses, I left my damn wallet on the first bus.”

“And you couldn’t call?” Todd asked reasonably.

“If I’d had signal, don’t you think I would have? Shit, I was bored out of my mind. No, we were so far out in the sticks that I’m not entirely certain the place even exists on a map. So anyway, we get to Wyoming and I had to change buses in Cheyenne. It’s like, three in the morning and I had to go the bathroom. I stopped in the terminal to use the bathroom before we left—trust me, you always want to avoid using the bathroom on the bus whenever possible.”

“Cheyenne? If you changed buses in Cheyenne, you should have made it back here two days ago,” Todd said after a moment’s thought.

“Yeah, you’d think, right? No, here’s where my story goes haywire. So I’m in the bathroom with the worst diarrhea of my life, and I give a pre-flush to clear the air halfway through—and the toilet overflowed. I’m talking, overflowed epicly. My pants were around my ankles when the shitty toilet water gushed everywhere and soaked my pants and shoes. And don’t even get me started on the backs of my legs and my balls. Let’s just say that I’m not entirely sure that I’ll ever feel completely clean again after that fiasco.”

Todd and Luke looked both horrified and amused by this at the same time. Although I couldn’t blame them, I held up my middle finger and took another drink of coffee before continuing.

“Luckily, I’d hung my backpack from the hook on the back of the stall door so I had a clean pair of pants to change into. My shoes... well, let’s just say that I washed them as best as I could in the sink and wore wet shoes for the next day or so. Anyway, my phone was in my hand while I was sitting on the toilet and when the shitty water splashed over my balls, I jumped with a loud shriek and my phone went flying in the air and landed face first on the floor in the middle of the water before I thought to grab for it.

I shook my head sadly. “Not only was the screen cracked beyond repair, the water completely killed the battery. By the time I came out of the bathroom, the bus had left. I feel like the driver could have checked on me, you know? He didn’t have very many passengers and he knew I was in the bathroom. I’d let him know before I went in there and he’d told me that I had about ten minutes before the bus left. Asshole, but whatever. It’s over now.” I huffed indignantly at the memory.

“So anyway, I’d already given my ticket to the driver, my phone was dead, and to top things off—I had no wallet. To make a long story short, I was screwed and had no choice but to hitchhike my way home over the past couple days and here I am.”

Todd stared at me thoughtfully for a long moment, then pointed down the hallway. “After that story, I think you need to go take another shower.”

Luke laughed his agreement as he shook his head. “What about your wallet? Did you ask the bus company about it?”

“Yeah, they found it and mailed it to me the same day, according to their lost and found department.”

Todd looked over at the counter with a grin. “I bet that’s what is in the padded envelope that’s over on the counter. It arrived yesterday morning and I left it there for you.”

I slapped a palm to my face and shook my head. It figured that my wallet would beat me home.

“It’s okay, Scotty. I’ve been thinking about settling down here in Hollydale anyway. We can do it together if you want.”

I glanced over at my brother as he drove my car while I sat shell-shocked in the passenger seat. I’d just come from a routine checkup with my doctor, and had found out a not-so-routine surprise. The maybe-baby I’d joked about with Justin wasn’t a maybe anymore—it was a reality.

“Thanks, Todd. I know you’ll be there for me, it’s just—I don’t know. I can’t really put how I’m feeling into words, you know?”

“If you ask me, I’d say that you’ve been feeling disconnected ever since you came home last month. You’ve never really settled back into your routine here, it’s like your heart isn’t here, you know?” Todd switched lanes and turned toward the downtown area. “I think this situation calls for some Sweet Ballz, don’t you?”

“You think any situation calls for Sweet Ballz,” I said with a halfhearted grin.

“I mean, all balls are pretty sweet. But I have become pretty addicted to your friend’s shop, not gonna lie.”

When we walked into the shop a few minutes later, a Tom-shaped blur came flying at me while Todd took a wide step to the side and shielded his face with his hands as though he needed protection.

I didn’t have time to laugh at my brother’s theatrics before Tom had tackle-hugged me. We fell sideways and crashed against a tabletop, but Tom just kept hugging me. The guy was so short that his cheek was buried against my chest as he squeezed me around the waist.

“I cannot believe that Tom had to wait over a month to see Scott. You’re lucky that my kids have been keeping me busy, or I would’ve been over there beating your door down. I mean, how dare you not come give me a hug the very day you arrived in town? It’s been what, five or six weeks now? How dare you!”

After he let me stand up again, I laughed at the thunderous expression on his freckle-covered elfin face. I reached for my backpack that had fallen to the floor when Tom tackled me, and pulled out a leaf-shaped bottle of syrup I’d brought him.

“Here, Tom. Scott is very sorry that he has neglected to visit since his return to Hollydale. However, Scott did not forget Tom while he was in Canada. Tom will find that this is the best maple syrup that Tom will ever taste.”

Tom giggled at my use of the third person, his preferred way to speak when he was feeling dramatic. He eagerly grabbed for the large bottle and hugged it to his chest.

“Ooh, Tom knows all about Canadian Maple syrup. Scott is forgiven, m’kay?” Dropping the affectation, Tom waved a hand to an empty table. “You guys go sit down while I rustle up some treats.”

Todd and I were talking quietly when Tom rejoined us. He set three bottles of water down, and a tray of assorted sweet ballz. I was excited to see some of my old favorites, including the tasty PBF bombz.

While Tom rattled on about how excited he was to finally see my twin and I together, I was distracted by thoughts of my pregnancy. The bell over the door jingled as the shop’s actual owners, Milo and Rafe, walked in.

They stopped to greet me and inquire about my trip. Before I could answer, Tom burst out excitedly.

“Rafe! You need to write a twincest romance for your next book! Sorry for the squirrel moment, but I just realized that. I mean, just look at these cute twinsies. I bet your readers would love a book like that... I know I would.”

While Rafe looked slightly horrified at the idea, Milo just shook his head at Tom. “You are the father of twins, Tom. How can you even joke like that?”

Tom shrugged. “For one thing, my babies are a boy and a girl, not a pair of hot ass adults. For another, look at these two!” Tom stopped for a moment, his mouth rounding into an O as he pulled his phone out.

“Speaking of hot men, Tom just remembered something he spotted on Scott’s vlog last month.” He scrolled through a few things before triumphantly holding out a screenshot from the video I’d shot of Justin rescuing me. “A hot alpha daddy who is also a Mountie? Tom needs all the deets, Scotty.”

Milo ruffled the top of Tom’s hair. “Leave the kid alone, Tom. Anyway, Rafe and I just popped by to pick up an order that Kent put together for me earlier. Artie’s class is having their end of the school year party, and I promised to bring some Sweet Ballz. We’re just going to grab those and be on our way. Scott, it’s good to have you home.”

I smiled and gave a wave as they rushed off to pick up their order. Tom stood and wagged a finger at me. “I’m just going to go help them get everything packed up. Don’t you dare leave without saying goodbye.”

When Tom came back a few minutes later, he was just in time to hear Todd blurt out my secret.

“So you don’t have any way at all to let the Mountie know that you’re pregnant with his child? That sucks. Maybe that Martha lady at the B&B could help you. I’m sure you can find her business online, right?”

Tom settled into his seat quietly and waited until Todd had finished speaking before he reached over to take my hand. He spoke softly while he gently squeezed my hand.

“How long have you known?”

I blushed. “We just came from the doctor, it was a surprise.”

Tom winced. “A good surprise?”

I thought about that for a moment, then nodded with a slow smile. “Actually? I think it’s a fantastic surprise. It’s just that I haven’t really had time to wrap my brain around it yet, you know?”

“What are you going to do about the hot Mountie?” Tom asked after a moment’s thought.

I ran my hand through my hair and huffed out a sigh of frustration. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, his number was in my phone and it got destroyed on my way home—and don’t even ask me about that one. Trust me, you don’t want to know. And, he’s not even on Facebook! How old school is that? I don’t know if it’s his age, or if it’s because he’s a Mountie and needs to be private? I just don’t know.”

Tom perked up and leaned forward with a bright smile as he waved a hand in front of his face as though cooling himself off.

“Can we just stop for a moment and talk about the whole hot Mountie of it all? Seriously, I wasn’t joking when I said I needed deets.”

Reluctantly, I told Tom the complete story of me and Justin. By the end he was swooning and staring at the picture of the two of us on his phone and giggling at the whole sugaring off thing.

After he’d calmed down, Tom reached over and squeezed my hand again. “Listen, babe. There’s no choice here, you need to go back—and not just because your Mountie is hot as heck, m’kay? Listen to Papa Tom. Do whatever you need to do, but go find your Mountie.”

I looked down at my lap. “But what if he doesn’t want the baby? And besides, there’s still the whole immigration thing—and don’t forget that he made me leave.”

Tom shot me a chiding look while he scrolled on his phone. “Naturally the hot alpha Mountie sent you back, did you really expect him to break the laws of his country? And boo to you for even asking, although I do understand your motivation. Still, you need to do things the right way.”

A moment later, Tom scooted around and showed me his phone. “Okay, it’s not perfect—but you could go stay in this little town called Stafford. It sits right on the border between our countries. Part of the town is American, the other half is in Canada. You could stay in the American part, and he could visit you there while you work on your return visa. Hell, if he’s willing to marry you, I bet you could just apply for residency instead. Easy peasy.”

I shook my head. “That’s crazy, Tom—even coming from you.”

My brother surprised me by agreeing with Tom. “No, what would be crazy is if you didn’t at least try. If you think that you’ve found love, you need to grab at it with both hands—life is short. Besides, you have a baby coming. Don’t you think your little one deserves to have both parents if you can make that happen?”

I chewed my lip as I nodded reluctantly. “I’ll have to think about it, but maybe it isn’t so crazy. But Todd! You’re here visiting... I can’t just leave. And, what about my apartment?”

Todd’s eyes danced as he leaned forward. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that anyway. What if I took over the lease on your apartment? I was going to talk to you about moving to Hollydale. I’d planned on living here with you, but I’d rather see you follow your dreams. I’d offer to come with you, but I think I’ve started putting down roots here.”

“That works,” I agreed. I wasn’t about to put down his idea, it was about time that my brother wanted to put down roots somewhere. “Besides, if you’re here in Hollydale—I’ll have an excuse to come back for visits.”

“Excuse you!” Tom huffed at me. “I’m pretty sure that you already have more reasons than just your adorable twin to come back for a visit.”

“Good point,” I laughed while Tom crumpled a napkin and threw it at me.